A Late Post and a Mention of the Cover Reveal

Posted on May 25, 2013 by ashleymanningwriter

I should have posted this on Tuesday but there has been a bit of a delay. I’m sorry about that. Jimmy part four is available now HERE. 

I’ve nearly finished the next book I’ve been reading. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. It’s a good book but the writing is clunky in places. As a debut novel though it’s still pretty good. I’ve got about 50 pages of that left. 

I’ve just finished editing my book again. It was a long one this time. I went over every page with delicate care. It took a while. I found out that I could do about 15 pages double spaced in an hour. I’m hoping that it’ll be the last time I do it like that. I haven’t really got time to go over it too many times without delaying other things.

This part of the post is kind of dedicated to my little brother. He came downstairs a couple of days ago when I was editing and started watching TV. I looked up and he was watching something called the Regular Show. I’ve never heard of it but it’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. There was a bird who was friends with a ghost, who was called high five ghost, they were battling giant cassette in a battle of the bands type thing. It was really weird and quite freaky. I don’t understand kids shows anymore.

I’m going to see The Great Gatsby on Wednesday. Hopefully it’ll be good. 

Also on Tuesday in my next post I’ll be uploading the front cover of my book. I’m very happy with it and quite a few of the people I’ve shown seem to be pleased with it. 

Thanks for reading,

Ashley

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Star Trek Into Darkness

Posted on May 15, 2013 by ashleymanningwriter

I went to see the new Star Trek film today. I’ve been waiting four years for this film and it was worth the wait. I’m usually hesitant to compare a film to others after just seeing it but this time I know it was that good. It’s the best of the Star Trek films. There wasn’t one bad thing about it. I loved the twists and surprises. The plot was complicated enough and had quite a few rewarding nods to the original series and films. I don’t know if people who don’t like Star Trek will like this film as much as me but I loved it. I really hope that Abrams commitment to Star Wars doesn’t stop him from making the 13th one.

While I’m writing about J.J. Abrams, it was announced last week that 2 of his new shows have been picked up for full seasons. The one I’m interested in is Almost Human, which is about humans and robots on a police force. At first I laughed at the idea because it sounds exactly like Mac and Cheese, which Joey stared in at some point in Friends, but after seeing the trailer I think it looks interesting. I’m looking forward to it. Also Community got renewed for a 5th season which is brilliant news. 1 more to go!

I finished reading The Postman Always Rings Twice a couple of days ago. (It was also the inspiration for a new story, Jimmy, part 3 of which is available HERE) I enjoyed the book and would probably read more by the author. The next book I’m going to read is Darren Shan’s new book, Hagurosan, which is really just a short story. I’m sure it’ll be worth reading though.

Tomorrow I’ve got some work to do with the cover of my book and after that it’s back to editing.

Thanks for reading,

Ashley.

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Jimmy Part Two

Posted on May 7, 2013 by ashleymanningwriter

Tony watched as the woman walked along the bar and through a door to the back room. He was alone. Part of him thought that maybe Nate wouldn’t ever make it there. He still had a day or two to wait, and that was only if he had calculated everything right. He wasn’t known for his mathematical abilities. It seemed like years had passed since he was in London, while it had only been two or three days. Tony grabbed at the cup in front of him and raised it to his mouth. Even though he was the only one there he felt odd not holding onto something, even if it was empty. He knew the woman would be back soon and he was right. She walked back into the room with a man following her.

***

Carry on reading Jimmy Part Two HERE.

I’m quite happy with the feedback I received from last weeks story, Jimmy. Through the blog, email and Facebook I received more than the 5 likes I wanted in order to carry on adding to Jimmy. And there it is. Part Two.

I have an idea for Jimmy to last 15 parts of around 1000 words each. These parts can be grouped into sets of 5. At the moment I’ve written the first 8. I’m enjoying writing it, and it’s a different approach to most of my other writing. Last Wednesday I wrote 4000 words in a day which is now my personal record. I’m very happy with that.

I’ve also near enough finished my latest edit of To The Other which is going well. It’s all steps in the right direction.

Today I went to London to visit ‘David Bowie Is’, an exhibition in the V & A on Bowie’s life and music. I’m a fan of Bowie, but the only reason I went was because it was a birthday present to my mum from my uncle. It was a good day out, even though it was way too packed at some points. There was no way through the small areas when there were so many people. Other than that it was a good day out. I enjoyed walking around London.

Tomorrow is back to writing and editing. Hoping to have the next edit done by the weekend, and the 15 parts of Jimmy completed by next weekend.

Thanks for reading,

Ashley.

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Thank You

Posted on May 1, 2013 by ashleymanningwriter

Yesterday I reached 100 followers and am not at 101.

I just wanted to mark this landmark with a big thank you to anyone who has followed this site and continues to read and support my writing.

In the 6 months I’ve been doing this I’ve learnt a lot, received some great feedback and found new authors. It’s been a really fun ride and look forward to whatever comes next.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading these posts as well as the stories I’ve been uploading.

For those of you that missed yesterday’s update I’ve started writing a project that I will add to every week if the page gets 5 likes. you can find the story HERE. I hope you enjoy it.

Many thanks for reading, commenting and sharing.

Thanks,

Ashley

 

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Jimmy and Dissertation

Posted on April 30, 2013 by ashleymanningwriter

Tony had been walking down that road for god knows how long. He couldn’t remember if the sun was up when he started, but it was nowhere to be seen when he grew tired of walking. The world around him was dead, it had been for a while. The trees had just stopped growing and the grass quickly followed. It looked like a desert with a road built through it. In some parts of the world it wouldn’t be odd to see something like that, but Tony had left London only a day or two before. He couldn’t have walked that far.

***

To carry on reading Jimmy – Part One click HERE

Jimmy is the working title of a new project I’ve started. I was reading The Postman Always Rings Twice yesterday and was inspired to write a story. All I had one was little scene. It expanded quickly into an idea for a comic, but that isn’t practical. I can’t draw. Instead I started writing and it quickly developed into a story. I’m 3000 words through it at the moment, and am writing it in parts of roughly 1000 words each. If you like it I would appreciate your feedback. If I get 5 likes on this post I will continue adding more pieces each week. I’m feeling a little unsure about it and I don’t want to put something up if people don’t want to read it. So feedback is very much appreciated.

I also started my dissertation yesterday. i have an idea, 8000 words to play around with and thought I might as well make a start. At the moment I’ve got 500 words, but that’s fine. I’m taking my time. I’ve got nearly a year to do it anyway. It’s about a boy who is taken 2 years into the future and finds that he world has been near enough destroyed. There’s no electricity, no structure other than the fear of a war lord, and a lack of food. It’s inspired by TV shows like Revolution, books like The Dark Tower and comics like East of West. I have to write about the inspirations in my Reflective Analysis so I’m thinking about that early and trying to add them in as I go along, while still keeping it my own piece of work.

I hope you enjoy reading Jimmy, if you do click the link, and I’ll be looking forward to your feedback.

Thanks for reading,

Ashley

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